Separator



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. O. M. MORSE.

SEPARATOR.

No. 555,874. Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

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ihvirnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORVILLE M. MORSE, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

SEPARATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,874, dated March 3, 1896. Application filed July 27,1894. Serial No. 518,742. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORVILLE M. MoRsE, a citizen of the United States, residing at J ackson, in the count-y of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Separators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in an apparatus for separating or purifying materials especially in tended for use with grain or grain products, and in which the material is delivered into an air-current where it is graded or separated by centrifugal force, the air delivered from the machine being, if desired, purified and returned to the separator.

The invention further consists in the con struction, arrangement and combination of the various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical central section through a machine adapted to carry out my method and embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the top of the dust-collector or air-purifier.- Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bottom of the centrifugal separator-casing. Figs. 4, 5, and (3 are vertical sections through machines embodying my invention, showing modifications from the construction shown in Fig. 1.

111 the previous state of the art separatingmachines have been constructed embodying a casing, preferably tapering, having a fan near the bottom, an annular bottom plate, a discharge-passage through the bottom for the cleaned material,a dust-outlet at the top, and devices for feeding the material against the side of the casing above the bottom. In these devices the air circulation is spirally upward from the bottom of the casing around the side and downwardly in the center or vortex. Some of the dust will be thrown by centrifugal force against the wall of the casing and will gradually ascend, finding exit through the dust-outlet at the top, but 'the light i1npalpable dust or fluff which is carried by the air is returned again and again to the bottom of the casing with the air, and more or less of it will be carried with the cleaned material. In other words, there is an'interior air-circuit in the separator-casing in which the light dust is carried.

My improvement embodies the use of a centrifugal separator in which the air is constantly renewed, passing through the machine, carrying the light dust with it, and yet efiecting a perfect separation by centrifugal action of the material, which may begraded by cut-offs in the wall of the casing.

I have shown my separator connected with and combined with a dust-collector such as is described and shown in United States Patent No. 516,171, and while I deem this the preferable form of dust-collector to be used any other means of purifying the air of its dust may be employed.

A is a suitable frame for supporting the various parts of the mechanism. In this frame is the circular casing 13, preferably tapering from its base to its top. At the lower edge of this casing is an inwardly-extending ring B, which forms the bottom or a portion thereof. This bottom ring may be supplemented by an inwardly extending ring B preferably of sheet metal, secured to the top of the inner edge of the ring B and extending inwardly, leaving the central portion open. This bottom ring is provided with apertures to feed the material from the separator-casing B into the hopper C beneath. These may be vertical apertures, as shown in Figs. 4:, 5, and G, or, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, consisting of tangential grooves B formed in the upper face of the ring 13, extending from near the casin g to the inner edge of the ring, and there discharging into the hopper O. This hopper has a spout O for the cleaned material, preferably provided with a valve C In Fig. 1 I have shown a casing D around the casing C to form an annular air-chamber D communicating into the hopper over the top to make an even distribution of the incoming air all around the casingy'D being the air-supply trunk at the bottom of the chamber D. Instead of this construction, however, the air-trunk D may lead directly to the bottom of the hopper C, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The construction shown in Fig. 1 is preferable, however, for reasons which I will hereinafter explain.

At the top of the casingB is an expansionchamber F, formed by the casing F, which is larger than the top of the casing B and forms outside that easing around the top the dustchannel F which may connect into a discharge-chute G, Fig. 5, or intothe trunk G, which connects into the expansion-chamber II beside the dust-collector. This expansionchamber has a spout H for discharging the dust settling therein. The top of this chamber connects with the eye of the fan I, the discharge of which communicates into the chamberl of the dust-collector. The bottom of this chamber is apertured, and depending therefrom around the apertures are the textile tubes J, secured to. the apertured head J at their lower ends, below which is the hopper J the construction of this dust-collector being substantially as described and shown in the before-mentioned patent, No. 516,171.

The chamber L around the tubes I have shown connected by the trunk L with the trunk D leading to the separator. The chamber L may be inclosed by suitable panels M, or these may be omitted, so that the air from the room may freely enter into the trunk D '0 is a shaft passing through the casing B and driven'from any suitable source of power. Near the lower end of the casing B it is provided with a fan. In Figs. 1, 4, and 5 I have shown this fan formed simply of radial arms a. In Figs. 4 and 6 I have shown the usual fan-blades. This fan is covered with a plate or cover b extending nearly to the casing 13, but leaving an annular air-passage 0 between the fan and easing B. This cover is sub.- stantially a diaphragm serving to form the restricted annular passage 0.

cl is a spreader-plate on the shaft above the plate Z2, and e is a feed-spout around the shaft and adapted to deliver the material on the plate 01.

f is an arm'extendin g from the fan and having a scraper-blade h in the dust-chamber F Q is a cut-off in the wall of the separatoreasing, extending preferably from near the top of the cover 1) some distance up the casing and controlled by asuitable slide Q.

I may use, and preferably do, two slides Q, one at top and one at the bottom of the cutoff, so that loan control the size as well as the location of the cut-off aperture. This preferably connects into spout Q which has a-connection Q into the top of the casing.

The operation of the device is as follows: Motion is imparted to the shaft 0, which rapidly turns the fan and its disk or cover and the distributing-plate (Z. The materiaL-such as middlingsis fed through the spout e and will be fed overthe disk I) and thrown against the side of the casing across the rising aircurrent which will pass through the passage 0.

The heavy material will fall through this aircurrent upon the ring B, and from thence will pass through the grooves B to the inner edge of the ring, and in falling therefrom will be subjected to an air separation by the horizontal current passing from the chamber D to the inner edge of the ring B Fig. 1. The cleaned material will fall intothe hopper O and be spouted from the spout O. This separation by the horizontal air-current is desirable, but not necessary, and the material may pass directly through vertical apertures into the hopper O, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.

I prefer to employ ribs I in the hopper C, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, to prevent the whirling of the air therein.

The material which is heavy enough to overcome the upward motion of the air will fall. That which is not heavy enough to fall and not light enough to go out will either follow the wall until it is broken up fine enough to ascend or until a number of particles adhere together and then fall; or, if the cut-off Q is opened, it may be graded by opening this cut-off at different points. The lighter dust will be suspended in the air and carried with it and will pass out with the air-current through the trunk G into the expansion-chamber H, in which the heavier particles thereof may drop, the bulk of the dust going with the air-eurrent to the fan I and into the dust-collector, where the air will be purified, passing through the textile tubes L into thereturn-trunk L or into the room, the dust being collected in the hopper J The fan I is of considerably less power than the fan in the casing B, so as to maintain a pressure in that casing, but prevents largely, if not entirely, the interior circulation in the casing B. Thus it will be seen that the air will be drawn in at the bottom of the separatorcasing, be driven spirally upwardly therein, carrying with it the heavy dust impelled by centrifugal force against the wall of the easing, through which it may be removed, and the lighter dust suspended in the air-current and carried off therewitlnthus purifying the material of its dust of all kinds and delivering it rapidly at the bottom of the machine.

I have found that flour as it comes from the rolls may be fed into my machine and it will separate the fluff and heavier dirt or dust particles from it. 1

I can largely control the degree of separation by the speed or capacity of the two fans, and I may omit the fan I, as shown in Fig. 6, and still effect the desired separation, though I deem the fan I desirable.

As in Fig. 5, part of the air-current may pass cent-rally through the fan, beneath the plate d, which central current will pass through the material falling from that plate and carry such dust as it may pick up through the separator-cha1nber to the dust-collector.

hat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of a casing'having air inlet and exit at opposite ends and a cut-off opening in the side, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air within the casing, and a feed for delivering the material into the air-current, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a casing having an inlet and exit at opposite ends and a cut-off opening in its side, a partially-closed bottom,

a fan near the lower end, an open top, and a feed for delivering the material into air-current in the casing, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a tapering centrifugal separating-casing having an exit at its upper end, and a reduced central inlet at its lower end, a fan near the bottom having an imperforate cover extending to near the side of the casing, and a feed for delivering the material into the casing, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a tapering centrifu- 'al separating-casing having a free exit at the op, an annular bottom forming a central airinlet a fan above the bottom adapted to produce a positive spiral air circulation from bottom through the top, a covering for the fan, a central feed-tube for delivering the material upon the fan-covering, substantially as described.

5. In a centrifugal separator, the combina tion of the casing, open at each end for ingress and egress of the air-current, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air from the inlet to the exit, a diaphragm serving to form a restricted air-passage between the same and the wall of the separator-chamher, and a feed for delivering the material into or across this passage.

0. In a centrifugal separator having inlet and exit at opposite ends of the separatorcasing, and devices for producing a spiral movement of the air from the inlet to the exit, a diaphragm serving to form a marginal restricted air-passage around the wall of the separator-chamber, a feed for delivering the material into or across this passage and an auxiliary fan for drawing the dust-laden air from the exit of the separator-casing.

'7 The combination with a centrifugal separator-casing, having an air-inlet at the bottom and a free air-exit at the top, of a diaphragm therein, forming a narrow annular marginal passage at the inlet thereof, a fan below the diaphragm, a feed for the material into the casing above the diaphragm, and a fan having its suction side connected to the exit from the separator-casin g, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the tapering contrifugal separating-casing, having a free exit at the small end, of a ring-shaped bottom, an :imperforate diaphragm above the bottom to form an annular air-inlet between the same and casing, and a fan beneath the diaphragm, a feed above the diaphragm and dischargeapertures through the ring-shaped bottom, substantially as described.

9. In a centrifugal separator the combination of the casing, means for creatinga spiral aircurrent therethrough, the ring-shaped bottom, having the tangential feed-grooves C therein, and a feed-spout into the casing, substantially as described.

10. In a centrifugal separator the combination of the casing, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air therethrough, the

ring-shaped bottom B having the grooves B and the ring B extending inwardly fromthe ring B on top thereof, substantially as described.

11. The combination of a centrifugal separator having air inlet and exit at opposite ends, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air under pressure from the inlet to the outlet to thereby effect a centrifugal separation, and a fan having its suction side connected to the said outlet and its discharge side to a dust-collector, substantially as described.

12. The combination of a centrifugal separator, having air inlet and exit at opposite ends, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air from the inlet to the outlet to thereby effect a centrifugal separation, a fan having its suction side connected to the outlet and the discharge to a dust-collector, and a trunk connecting the inlet to the separatorchamber with the purified-air chamberof the dust-collector, substantially as described.

13. In a centrifugal separator of the kind described, comprising a tapering casing having a free air-inlet at the bottom, and a free air-exit at the top, devices for imparting a spiral movement of the air through the casing having a cut-off opening in the side below the air-exit, and gates adapted to adjust the size or height of the cutoff opening, substantially as described.

14. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a casin g having an inlet at the bottom, and an exit at the top, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air from the inlet to the exit, an expansion-chamber into which the exit leads, having an exit for the dustladen air, substantially as described.

15. I11 a centrifugal separator, the combination of an upwardly and inwardly tapering casing, having an inlet at the bottom and an exit at the top, devices for producing a spiral movement of the air from the bottom out through the top, an expansion chamber around the top, and a fan having its suction side connected to said expansion-chamber, substantially as described.

16. The combination with the tapering centrifugal separator-casing, having a free airexit at the upper end, an expansion-chamber into which said exit leads, and devices for positively removing the material from such settling-chamber, substantially as described.

17. The combination with the tapering centrifu gal separator-casing having an exit at the top, and its fan adapted to produce a through spiral air circulation, an annular expansionchamber. around the top of the separatorchamber, and a scraper-blade for removing the material from such settling-chamber, substantially as described.

18. The combination with the centrifugal separator-casing having an inlet at the bottom and an exitat or near the top, of an expansion-chamber into Which the exit leads, devices for removing the material from the bot- IIO tomof the expansion-chamber, and a fan for drawing the dust-laden air from said chamber, substantially as described.

19. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of the tapering casing, open at top and bottom so as to permit ingress and egress of an air-current, devices for producing aspiral air-current from the inlet to the exit on the wall of the casing, a diaphragm 0r partition forming a restricted air-passage in the air- 10 current and a feed for delivering the material into the air-current.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ORVILLE M. MORSE.

\Vitnesses:

M. B. ODoGHER'rY, O. F. BARTHEL. 

